


No regrets

by cruellae (tinkabelladk)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-21
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-09-26 02:55:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9858965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinkabelladk/pseuds/cruellae
Summary: “This is really real. Like, we could die today kind of real," Prompto whispered, in a little alcove in Grayshire Glacial Grotto, as they prepared to take on a deadly daemon.And Noctis decided that if he was going to be lunch for a Mindflayer, he didn't want to die with any regrets.Ignis/Noctis, with Prompto and Gladio for deep thoughts and comic relief.





	

At first, it seemed like a lark, a road trip, a final hurrah for the prince before he settled down and got hitched. And yes, Ignis knew it was highly suspicious that they were being secreted out of the Crown City without a word to the press, and that it happened just as the peace treaty was about to be signed was likely no coincidence. But he’d allowed himself to be caught up in the spirit of adventure nevertheless, and hoped for the best, while preparing, in what little ways he could, for the worst.

When Insomnia fell, it didn’t seem real to any of them. Even after fighting Magitek troopers to get a good look at the fallen city, even after a number of battles that left them scraped and scuffed, the spirit of adventure still remained. They felt like characters in one of Prompto’s RPGs, main characters, who could never die or get too badly hurt.

It wasn’t until Greyshire Grotto, where they found themselves seeking the sword behind the waterfall, that reality began to set in.

Maybe it was partly the cold, colder than it had any right to be in the heart of Lucis, and all of them were shivering as they picked their careful way along the narrow, frozen paths. They’d been in here for what felt like hours, getting lost, slipping down slopes of sheer ice, fighting the kind of twisted, demented creatures Ignis had only previously encountered in books.

Finally, they came to a large chamber through which he could see an entrance that looked like it led to a royal tomb.

“There,” Ignis said, speaking softly, and Noct stepped forward. Shadows shifted and two monstrous creatures emerged, strange demons floating above the ground, only vaguely humanoid. A heavy hand hooked around his waist, jerking him back into the previous room, Prompto tugging Noctis backwards as well.

“Gods,” Prompto whispered. “What the hell are those things?”

“Mindflayers, I believe,” Ignis said. “A type of demon. Not much is known about them, except that they are extraordinarily dangerous.”

“Got it,” Gladio said, greatsword already slung over his shoulder. “I’ll just hit it with the sharp side, see what happens.”

“This is real, you guys,” Prompto whispered, eyes wide, staring at the opening to the next room. “This is really real. Like, we could die today kind of real.”

“Yeah,” Noctis said. He stepped forward, squaring his shoulders just slightly, a gesture Ignis knew intimately. It meant he wished to say something important.

Noctis was not a natural ruler; he did not enjoy being superior to others, or wish to lord his power over them. But in rare moments like these, he assumed the mantle of leadership so effortlessly that it was impossible to ignore the truth others so often forgot—that the blood of the Kings of Lucis ran through his veins.

“This is real,” Noctis said. “And it’s probably smart to be at least a little scared. Maybe a lot.”

“Th-thanks bro,” Prompto said, his teeth chattering. “I got that part down.”

“It’s easy to forget, right?” Noctis said. “I mean, it’s fun to drive around in the Regalia and go fishing and sleep under the stars, and so we kind of forget that we’re actually doing something real, right now. Insomnia—all of Lucis—is full of people who are suffering because of the Empire. We’re the only ones who can protect them. So yeah. This is really fucking terrifying. But we’re not going to make a difference by staying home and playing video games.”

Prompto stood straighter, and even though he was still shivering, he nodded firmly. “We’ll do it for the Crown City,” he said. “My home.” His voice wavered on the word “home,” and Noctis clapped him on the shoulder.

“For Insomnia,” Ignis said. It was moments like these, above all others, when it was hard to put his professional feelings for Noctis The King of Lucis and his personal feelings for his dear friend Noct into two separate boxes, because the two objects of his affection were really one and the same. And moments like these reminded him that it wasn’t a temporary infatuation with the man he was charged with spending most of his waking hours with, but that Ignis was in love with the Chosen King, and had been thus hopelessly mired since he was a boy. A love so tied to duty he couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began, except that duty and circumstance demanded the love be unrequited, and never revealed to Noctis.

“Here’s to kicking the Empire’s ass,” Gladio said, with a wry grin.

“Um…if I die….” Prompto whispered, glancing uneasily at the next room, where the Mindflayers were lurking, “tell Cindy I was doing something really brave.”

“You are doing something really brave,” Gladio said, solemnly. “No regrets. Let’s do this.”

“No regrets,” Noctis said. And then his hand was on Ignis’s shoulder, pushing him back against the cold, slick wall, and Ignis opened his mouth to protest but Noct’s lips were on his.

Never in his life had he lost composure so thoroughly as he did in that moment. The rest of the world simply ceased to exist, and all that mattered was Noctis’s warm body against his, the hair, damp with cold sweat, that he’d tangled his fingers in, and the hot mouth insistently kissing him.

When Noctis let him go, only a few moments had passed, but it had felt an eternity, like Eos had fundamentally shifted beneath his feet, and he was standing in a strange, uncharted place. An eternity, and not nearly long enough.

“Let’s get these bastards,” Noctis said, turning away from him and making for the doorway, for the daemons waiting inside.

Gladio sent Ignis a questioning glance, Prompto staring at him, open-mouthed, but he just shrugged. There was no time to explain, even if he had known what to say. With a flick of each wrist, he summoned his daggers, and they all hurried after their king.

Ignis fought more viciously and furiously than he’d ever done before, scanning the battlefield, shouting instructions, aiding the others when they stumbled, and—most satisfying of all—sinking his daggers into the flesh of the daemons. He fought relentlessly, tirelessly. He fought for his home, fallen to the Empire, for the friends who were ever at his side, but most of all for Noctis, his love, his light, his king.

No regrets.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading <3


End file.
